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A  NORTH  CAROLINA  CAPTAIN'S  BREAKFAST 
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A  NORTH  flAROLINA  CAPTAIN'S  BREAKFAST. 

I 
By  Capt. Walter  A.  Whitted. 


Blue  &  Gray 
Feb. 1894. 


U 


Library  of 
The  University  of  North  Carolina 


COLLECTION  OF 

NORTH  CAROLINIANA 


ENDOWED  BY 

JOHN  SPRUNT  HILL 

of  the  Class  of  1889 


Q>  970.-TS.Wik 


^ 


n 

of 


A    frQORTH    CAROLINA    CAPTAIN  S    BREAKFAST. 


97 


A  NORTH   CAROLINA  CAPTAIN'S  BREAKFAST. 

Captain  Walter  A.-  Whitted,  Co.  G,  55th  North  Carolina  Regiment. 


I  HAD  only  one  day's  fighting  at  Gettysburg. 
Two  wounds,  one  in  the  foot  and  another 
in  the  face,  received  during  the  little  ex- 
citement in  the  railroad  cut  on  the  first 
day,  relegated  me  to  the  field  hospital  in  the 
rear.  Here  I  remained  until  the  Army  of 
Northern  Virginia  began  its  retreat  southward. 
By  that  time  my  injuries  were  repaired  to  such 
an  extent  that  I  could  hobble  around  fairly  well, 
and  could  take  a  little  solid  nourishment  instead 
of  the  soups  and  thin  stuff  to  which  my  wounded 
mouth  had  confined  me  for  three  days.  When 
we  commenced  our  retreat,  on  the  evening  of 
the  4th,  I  was  decidedly  hungry,  but  in  the 
hurry  and  confusion  of  loading  up  and  stowing 
away  our  wounded  I  found  no  chance  to  go 
through  my  slow  process  of  eating.  The  result 
was  that  after  I  had  ridden  all  night  across  a 
spur  of  the  mountain  I  found  myself,  at  eleven 
o'clock  next  day,  still  without  food  and  nearly 
famished. 

About  the  hour  named  our  column  was  halted, 
and  not  knowing  the  orders,  I  assumed  that  we 
would  at  least  be  given  time  to  get  a  bite  to  eat. 
To  my  dismay  the  wagon-drivers  said  they  .had 
nothing,  and  I  was  informed  that  our  brigade, 
rations  and  all,  was  "a  loDg  ways  ahead."  I 
was  further  informed,  upon  authority,  that  as 
soon  as  our  horses  could  graze  and  rest  a  little 
we  would  continue  our  retreat,  "  rations  or  no 
rations." 


This  did  not  suit  my  ideas  very  well.  I  began 
prospecting  on  my  own  account.  Looking  to 
the  left  of  the  highway  I  saw  a  substantial  farm 
dwelling  about  half  a  mile  distant.  The  very 
appearance  of  the  houses  of  the  thrifty  farmers 
of  Pennsylvania  suggests  abundance,  and  I  felt 
an  irresistible  desire  to  find  out  what  good  things 
that  house  contained  for  me.  Could  I  go  there 
and  return  in  time  to  keep  up  with  my  comrades? 
Are  we  near  the  end  of  the  column,  and  who  is 
covering  the  retreat  ?  Are  there  any  ' '  Yanks ' ' 
in  those  woods  near  the  right  of  the  house? 
These  and  similar  queries  flashed  through  my 
mind.  But  that  silent  monitor  within  me — not 
conscience  this  time,  but  hunger — cut  short  my 
dilatory  musings.  At  any  cost  my  hunger  must 
be  appeased. 

I  reined  my  horse  up  to  the  fence  and  threw 
off  the  top  rails.  In  a  moment  I  was  galloping 
across  the  field,  over  hedges  and  ditches,  through 
fields  of  wheat  and  corn.  Approaching  the 
house  from  the  rear,  I  halted  at  a  distance  of 
about  a  hundred  yards  and  took  a  quick  survey 
of  the  premises.  In  the  front  yard  were  half  a 
dozen  cavalry  horses  tied  to  the  cherry  trees. 
This  was  far  from  cheering,  as  I  had  no  means 
of  determining  whether  those  horses  represented 
Union  or  Confederate  troopers.  My  aforesaid 
inward  monitor  urged  me  forward,  however, 
and  I  rode  rapidly  into  the  yard  and  looked 
through  an  open  window  at  the  end  of  the  house. 


98 


BLUE   ^ND    GRAY. 


My  boldness  was  rewarded  by  the  welcome  sight 
of  three  gray  coats.  Leaving  my  horse  in  com- 
pany with  the  others  under  the  cherry  trees,  I 
entered.  On  the  piazza  I  encountered  a  fine- 
looking  old  gentlemen,  apparently  the  owner, 
whom  1  saluted,  but  who  neither  returned  my 
salute  nor  bid  me  welcome.  I  was  too  hungry 
to  stand  upon  ceremony,  and  passed  on  toward 
the  kitchen  end  of  the  dwelling.  I  met  two  of 
our  officers  coming  out,  one  of  whom  assured 
me  that  the  young  lady  in  charge  was  "  as  mad 
.as  a  wet  hen,"  adding,  "  if  you  get  anything 
to  eat  in  there  you  will  have  to  take  it !" 
n  Upon  entering  the  room  I  found  three  more  of 
our  officers — a  captain  and  two  lieutenants — com- 
fortably seated  at  a  table,  stowing  away  buck- 
-\vheat  cakes  and  fresh  country  butter.  A  nice- 
looking  young  lady  bent  over  the  stove  frying 
the  cakes,  but  with  evident  reluctance.  Her 
face  was  flushed  with  anger,  and  the  tears  were 
falling  down  her  cheeks,  while  her  eyes  flashed 
fire.  And  she  was  certainly  giving  my  hungry 
comrades  a  piece  of  her  mind.  She  was  evi- 
dently a  hearty,  good-natured  girl,  who  felt  that 
she  was  being  greatly  imposed  upon,  and  our 
boys,  under  the  genial  influence  of  her  buck- 
wheat cakes  and  golden  butter,  were  inclined  to 
chaff  her  good-naturedly. 

"I'll  be  glad  when  you're  all  gone,  and  I 
hope  the  good  Lord  will  never  let  you  live  to 
come  back  here  to  take  and  carry  away  every- 
thing you  can  lay  hands  on.  Why  don't  you  go 
on  back  to  that  '  Dixie,' as  you  call  it?  You 
a,re  the  most  hateful,  ugly '' 

"  There,  now.  madam,  you  are  greatly  mis- 
taken ;  and  if  yon  will  come  down  in  Dixie  we 
will  prove  to  you  that  we  are  nice  people,  cour- 
teous, polite,  and  not  always  hungry.  Besides, 
we  will  give  you  a  nice  little  '  reb  !  for  a  sweet- 
heart." 

"No,  indeed,  you  won't!  I  wouldn't  have 
one  of  you  '  rebs  '  if  he  was  the  last  man  on  this 
green  earth  !  Our  men  gave  you  fellows  a  good 
whipping."  she  went  on,  "  and  now  I  hope  you 
will  go  back  where  you  came  from  and  stay 
there.  I  don't  want  to  see  another  one  of  yon 
as  long  as  I  live  ! ' ' 

As  the  young  girl  thus  rattled  on,  her  tor- 
mentors leaned  back  in  their  chairs,  patiently 
awaiting,  knives  in  hand,  another  instalment 
of  the  luscious  cakes,  and  eyeing  a  large  bar  of 
fresh,  yellow  butter. 

"  There,  now,  that  is  all  you  will  get  in  this 
house.  You  can  go  on  farther  and  rob  someone 
else.     I  have  nothing  more  for  you." 


AVhile  listening  to  this  little  spat  I  had  been 
standing  near  the  stove  warming  and  drying 
myself,  and  enjoying,  in  anticipation,  my  share 
of  the  cakes.  I  had  ridden  all  the  preceding 
night  in  the  rain,  and  although  it  was  the  5th 
of  July  I  was  actually  cold. 

A  moment  later  I  found  myself  alone ;  my 
Georgian  comrades  had  departed,  the  little  cook 
had  gone,  and  even  the  cake  of  butter  had  dis- 
appeared. I  was  sadly  disappointed,  and  hungrier 
than  ever.  I  looked  into  the  tray  which  had 
contained  the  buckwheat  batter  ;  sure  enough, 
it  was  empty.  Just  then  the  young  lady  re- 
turned, seized  the  tray,  and  abruptly  left  the 
room  again.  I  began  to  reflect  upon  the  advice 
of  my  brother  officer,  given  me  as  I  entered, 
and  looked  about  to  see  what  I  could  "  take." 
Nothing  whatever,  of  an  edible  character,  re- 
warded my  search.  I  was  beginning  to  grow 
desperate,  for  I  knew  rny  time  was  short,  and  I 
was  growing  actually  faint.  Just  then  my  fair 
tormentor  came  back  again  to  the  kitchen. 
Planting  herself  defiantly  about  six  feet  from 
me,  she  said : 

'■  Do  not  stand  here  thinking  I  will  give  you 
something  to  eat,  for  you  heard  me  tell  those 
men  that  we  have  no  more  buckwheat  flour, 
and " 

She  had  a  pleasant,  hearty  countenance, 
despite  its  mask  of  unwonted  wrath.  I  deter- 
mined to  try  a  little  diplomacy. 

•'  My  dear  young  lady,  have  you  any  relatives 
in  the  Federal  army?" 

"Yes,  I  have;    a  brother  and  two  cousins." 

"Were  they  in  the  first  day's  fight,  do  you 
know?" 

"I  know  they  were  in  General  Reynolds' 
Corps,  but  I  have  not  heard  a  word  from  them 
since  the  battle.''  '  And  the  look  of  wrath 
began  to  fade  into  an  expression  of  deep 
anxiety. 

"What  regiment  do  they  belong  to?  "  I  asked. 

'•The — th  Pennsylvania,"  she  responded. 

"Why,"  said  I,  "our  fellows  fought  that 
regiment  at  the  railroad  cut." 

"Perhaps  you  can  tell  me  something  about 
my  brother,  then,"  she  said,  eagerly. 

"  No,  miss,"  I  replied,  "  I  only  know  that  one 
of  the  colonels  in  that  brigade  was  wounded 
and  captured  at  that  place,  and  that  he  was 
with  me  at  our  hospital.  The  surgeon  of  my 
regiment  treated  both  of  us,  and  our  own  cook 
prepared  our  food.  My  wound  was  such  that  I 
could  not  eat  my  share  of  the  good  things,  so 
the  wounded  colonel  took  my  place  at  mess." 


Jt    U^ORTH    CAROLINA    CAPTAIN'S    BREAKFAST. 


99 


I  remembered  the  name  of  this  colonel  at  the 
time,  and  mentioned  it  to  her,  but  I  have  now 
forgotten  it. 

This  incident  was  strictly  true,  but  I  have 
often  wondered  since  .that  she  believed  it  at 
once.  There  was  a  marvelous  change  in  her 
manner.  She  actually  smiled,  and  asked  me 
to  be  seated,  then,  hurrying  from  the  room, 
returned  directly  with  a  tray  and  some  buck- 
wheat batter.  In  a  few  moments  I  was  in  the 
midst  of  luxury — golden  brown  cakes  and  golden 
yellow  butter.  As  the  girl  bent  over  her  work 
I  could  see  her  eyes  fill  again  with  tears,  and 
her  manner  was  kindness  personified.  Speak- 
ing iu  an  earnest,  sorrowful  tone,  she  said  : 

• ;  You  seem  to  be  a  gentleman .  and  I  hope  I  have 

not  been  rude  to  you.    I  heard  that  Colonel 

was  wounded  and  captured.  Didn't  he  tell  you 
anything  of  my  brother  ?  "  mentioning  his  name. 

,;  No,  I  regret  to  say  that  he  did  not.  But 
wre  talked  of  the  war,  its  cause,  its  progress  and 
probable  conclusion,  and  recounted  our  experi- 
ences of  that  first  day's  fight.  I  asked  him  why 
he  did  not  hold  his  position,  posted  as  he  was 
behind  a  rail  fence,  when  we  first  struck  him.  His 
reply  was:  '  You  fellows  fight  like  wild  cats,  just 
as  if  you  had  not  a  particle  of  sense  or  fear. 
You  would  run  over  the  devil  himself  at  that 
rate.  There  is  not  a  particle  of  sense  in  such 
fighting  as  that.'  " 

By  this  time  nry  first  instalment  of  buck- 
wheat cakes  had  disappeared.  My  !  my !  Like 
the  old  negro,  I  was  not  able  to  "  'spress 
myself."  My  long  fast,  the  rain,  and  the  low 
temperature  of  my  body  had  reduced  the  fever 
and  the  soreness  of  my  face,  and  I  ate  with  a 
will.  "While  I  ate,  the  young  lady  stood  with 
her  hands  resting  on  the  back  of  my  chair, 
asking  me  many  questions  about  the  war  and 
the  people  of  Dixie.  I  assured  her  that  a  large 
majority  of  the  Confederate  soldiers  were  high- 
toned,  Christian  gentlemen,  many  of  them 
highly  cultured  graduates  of  colleges,  chivalrous 
and  refined,  having  at  home  humble  Christian 
mothers  whose  prayers  were  constantly  ascend- 
ing to  heaven  for  the  protection  of  their  sons ; 
that  we  were  fighting  the  Union  soldiers,  and 
were  not  making  war  on  women  and  children  ; 
that  we  were  fighting  for  what   we  conceived 


a  just  cause,  though  that  cause  might  be  hard 
to  define  ;  that  we  had  no  animosity  against  any 
Union  soldier — as  an  example,  I  had,  while  at 
the  hospital,  divided  with  two  Union  soldiers, 
lying  wounded  under  a  tree,  the  last  particle  of 
tobacco  I  had,  knowing  that  I  could  not  get  any 
more  for  perhaps  a  week ;  and  after  having 
assisted  in  the  amputation  of  my  own  colonel's 
arm,  I  hobbled  out  to  a  shade  tree  near  the 
house,  and  found  a  little  boy  suffering  very 
much,  a  grape-shot  having  penetrated  about 
two-thirds  its  own  diameter  into  the  top  of  his 
foot,  crushing  its  way  through  and  embedding 
itself  among  the  bones.  He  asked  me  to  see 
the  surgeons  and  ask  them  to  "please  put  him 
on  the  table  next."  Though  it  caused  me  con- 
siderable pain  to  walk,  yet  I  knew  the  kind, ' 
sympathetic  heart  of  the  surgeon  of  my  own 
regiment,  and  begged  him  to  attend  to  that 
little  Yankee  boy.  He  stopped  one  moment, 
raised  up,  turning  his  benevolent,  sympathetic 
face  to  me  and  said:  "Captain,  I  have  been 
watching  that  little  boy  for  the  last  six  or  eight 
hours,  giving  him  all  the  stimulants  he  will 
bear,  but  he  does  not  revive.  He  has  never 
recovered  from  the  first  shock,  and  I  fear  never 
will.  In  his  present  condition  he  would  cer- 
tainly die  on  the  table.  I  shall  continue  to 
watch  him,  and  if  he  revives  I  will  put  him  on 
the  table  immediately."  I  went  back  to  the 
house  by  another"  path.  I  could  not  look  upon 
that  pale,  boyish  face  again  and  tell  him  what 
the  surgeon  had  told  me. 

After  I  had  eaten  the  cakes  she  once  more 
left  the  room  and  returned,  bringing  a  dish  full 
to  the  brim  with  large,  luscious  raspberries. 
I  asked  her  to  place  in  another  dish  the  part  she 
wished  me  to  eat,  warning  her  that  if  they  were 
placed  in  my  hands  in  their  present  condition 
I  should  eat  them  all.  She  assured  me  that  I 
was  welcome  to  all.  I  ate  all.  They  had  been 
gathered  early  in  the  morning  and  sugared. 

Before  I  left  the  house,  this  hospitable  young 
woman  placed  in  my  hands  a  generous  slice  of 
delicious  dried  beef,  neatly  wrapped,  saying, 
'•  You  will  need  this,  perhaps."  I  thanked  her, 
and  rejoined  the  retreating  column,  but  left  in 
her  hands,  as  a  memento  and  not  as  a  reward, 
the  last  piece  of  silver  I  possessed. 


"DUTCHY'S"  ORIGINAL  CHALLENGE. 

George  H.  Hosea. 


BEYOND  establishing  the  authenticity  of 
the  following  story,  I  do  not  know  as 
it  matters  much  where  the  incident 
occurred,  but  as  I  have  heard  it  re- 
lated several  times,  and  as  in  each  instance  the 
narrator  claimed  it  as  an  incident  of  his  own 
regiment,  it  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  say  that 
it  was  told  me  as  early  in  the  war  as  August, 
1862,  and  as  an  occurrence  of  the  previous 
night.  So  I  think  I  have  good  reasons  for  be- 
lieving that  it  really  occurred  in  the  regiment 
to  which  I  was  then  attached. 

The  Fourth  Regiment  was  a  militia  organiza- 
tion which  responded  to  a  certain  call  of  Presi- 
dent Lincoln's  for  troops  and  went  intocamp 
fully  organized  as  a  regiment.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  parade  and  muster  duty,  it  was  without 
experience  in  military  service. 

A  few  days  after  entering  camp.  Company  G 
was  detailed  for  guard  duty,  which,  under  the 
existing  camp  arrangements,  made  its  captain 
officer  of  the  day.  At  that  early  period  of  the 
war  it  was  quite  the  fashion  for  newly-fledged 
oF'  ts  to  indulge  in  all  the  "pomp  and  circum- 
stance of  war,"  and  during  the  day  Captain 
Orville  was  formally  notified  that  the  Com- 
mandant of  the  post  would  personally  visit  his 
guard  lines  during  the  night.  This  meant,  in 
military  practice,  that  he  would  make  the 
"  Grand  Rounds." 

Captain  Orville,  commanding  Company  G, 
naturally  desired  that  his  company  should  make 
as  favorable  an  impression  upon  the  command- 
ing officer  as  possible,  hence  the  lieutenant  of 
the  guard  was  duly  instructed  to  see  that  every 
man  was  thoroughly  posted  in  his  duty  as  a 
sentinel,  and  particularly  in  the  manner  of  chal- 
lenging the  Grand  Rounds,  which  form  differed, 
somewhat,  from  the  usual  night  challenge. 

Among  the  more  recent  accessions  to  the 
company  was  a  middle-aged  German,  to  whom 
the  boys  had  quickly  applied  the  sobriquet  of 
"  Dutchy."  and  who  was  somewhat  dull  of  com- 
prehension and  rather  liable  to  get  "  mixed"  in 
his  English.  To  him  the  lieutenant  deemed  it 
expedient  to  give  especial  attention. 

"Now,  Jacob,"  he  said  to  him,  "the  Grand 
Rounds  will  visit  your  post  to-night,  and  I 
want  you,  in  particular,  to  be  on  the  alert  and 
to  be  very  careful  to  challenge  exactly  as  I  am 


about  to  explain  to  you ,  and  if  you  do  it  right 
it  will  be  a  big  feather  in  your  cap. 

"  Now,  when  you  see  the  Grand  Rounds 
coming  you  will  halt  about  the  middle  of  your 
beat,  and  when  they  have  approached  to  within 
about  ten  paces  you  will  come  to  arms,  port, 
and  cry,  '  Who  comes  there  ? '  The  sergeant 
will  answer,  '  Grand  Rounds.'  You  will  then 
say,  '  Halt,  Grand  Rounds  !  Advance,  sergeant, 
and  give  the  countersign ! '  The  sergeant  will 
then  advance  to  within  reach  of  the  point  of 
your  bayonet,  and  speak  the  countersign  to  you 
in  a  low  tone.  If  the  word  is  correct,  you  will 
say :  '  The  countersign  is  correct,  advance, 
Grand  Rounds ! '  and  you  then  permit  them  to 
advance  and  pass  on." 

After  making  him  repeat  this  over  and  over 
again  until  it  seemed  impossible  for  him  to  make 
a  blunder,  the  lieutenant  left  him,  quite  satis- 
fied that  he  could  make  no  mistake. 

Presently  away  down  the  line  a  sentinel  chal- 
lenged and  "Dutchy"  heard  the  answer,  "Grand 
Rounds."  Immediately  he  was  on  the  qui  vive. 
Soon  from  out  the  shadowy  darkness  a  shape 
emerged,  which,  as  it  approached,  took  the  form 
of  a  body  of  people.  Promptly  to  "  charge 
bayonets"  came  "Dutchy's"  musket,  and, 
standing  fast,  he  faced  the  approaching  group. 

Nearer  and  nearer  they  came  and  soon  were 
within  the  prescribed  limits  for  challenging,  and 
yet  not  a  sound  did  "Dutchy"  utter.  In  the 
excitement  of  the  late  confusion  and  the  de- 
mands of  the  present  exigency,  his  brain  and 
tongue  seemed  at  variance  with  each  other.  By 
this  time  the  Grand  Rounds  had  come  to  a  halt, 
and  the  sergeant,  slowly  and  expectantly,  ad- 
vanced to  the  very  point  of  the  menacing 
bayonet,  and  still  no  challenge. 

"  Why  don't  you  challenge,  you  chuckle- 
head,  you?"  hissed  the  sergeant. 

"  Mine  gootness  !  "  cried  poor  "  Dutchy,"  in 
great  trepidation,  "  vat  vos  it?  Grand — grand 
Corporal  ov  ter  gard  mit  ter  post  vorteen,  advance  mit 
ter  countermand  and  say  some  leetle  tings  mit  me,  yah!" 
at  last  he  yelled,  and  then  in  a  most  self-satis- 
fied tone  he  continued  :  "  Pass,  Grand  Roundts, 
dot  vas  right!" 

Poor  "  Dutchy"  evidently  had  his  lesson  all 
right  in  his  mind  ;  it  was  only  his  tongue  and  a 
slight  confusion  of  ideas  that  led  him  astray. 


100 


m-;: 


UNIVERSITY  OF  N.C.  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


00032770289 


FOR  USE  ONLY  IN 
THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  COLLECTION 


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ram 

m 

$b     > 

H 


.-V 


11B 


i    H 
I 

I 

II 
1 

1 
m 


